Sheet assembling machine



July 7, 1942.

J. TAGGART 2,288,755

SHEET ASSEMBIlING MACHINE Filed May a, 1941 5 84 I z J i 251 46 a; J3 4.9

2 Sheets -Sheet l I (:35 Snnentor Jam; -75g9d/f July 7, 1942. J. TAGGART SHEET ASSEMBLING MACHINE Filed May 8, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M w/ h a 7 aw Patented July 7, 1942.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHEET ASSEMBLING MACHINE John Taggart, Spokane, Wash.

Application May 8, 1941, Serial No. 392,528

9Claims.

- notices, and the like, must be prepared and copies thereof made for filing away as records thereof. The machine may also be used for assembling multigraphed or printed pages of a circular or the like which are produced in larger numbers and must then be assembled in their proper order.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character consisting of a sheet gatherer movably mounted in cooperating relation to a plurality of boxes or equivalent sheet holders, means being providedfor elfecting delivery of sheets from the boxes to the sheet gatherer in their proper order and discharge of the assembled sheets from the gatherer.

Another object of the invention is to so form the delivery means for the sheets that as the gatherer moves, the sheets will be individually removed from stacks in the boxes and guided into place upon the rotating gatherer.

Another object of'the invention is to provide a machine of this character wherein the boxes have means for holding the sheets in stacks and maintaining the stacked sheets in compact masses as the sheets are individually removed and delivered to the gatherer.

Another object of the invention is to provide the boxes with rollers so mounted that as the sheets are individually separated from the stacks they will be engaged by th rollers and guided into engagement with the rotary gatherer.

Another object of the invention is to provide the machine with a discharge platform mounted for movement into cooperating relation to boxes or trays for receiving the assembled sheets and automatically moved from one tray to another during rotation of the gatherer.

boxes and a portion of the gathering drum and its frame. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the box.

Fig.5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the upper portion of'the machine and the boxes or trays for receiving the assembled sheets.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken through an end portion of one of the sheet-holding boxes.

Fig. 7' is a fragmentary sectional view showing means for removing a sheet from a box, the view being on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on Fig. 1.

This improved sheet assembling machine has a casing I formed of metal and supported in vertical spaced relation to a base 2 by struts 3. The casing l is drum shaped and within it is mounted a drum 4 which isalso formed of sheet metal and has its peripheral wall covered by a facing 5 of rubber. The shaft 6 of the drum is journaled through side walls of the casing and may be turned through the medium of a crank handle I or driven from a motor 8 mounted externally of the casing and having its shaft provided with a worm 9 which meshes with a worm gear l0 carried by the shaft. The handle I may be removed when the shaft is driven by the motor.

Sheet holders in the form of boxes II, I! and it, are spaced from each other circumferentially of the casing, the box ll being mounted on the base i and the boxes li'and I3 being mounted outwardly of the casing by brackets Na and Ma fixed to and extending from the peripheral wall of the casing. By this arrangement, blank checks may be stacked in box H, carbon sheets in box l2, and record sheets in box i3. It will be understood that this is merely one type of sheets which may be assembled by the sheet assembling machine and that the machine may be used for assembling other sheets in regular order. It will also be understood that the machine is not limited to three boxes and that the number may be increased in accordance with the number which the dimensions of the casing will accommodate.

Each box is formed as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and referring to these figures, it will beseen that the box has top or inner wall sections it and. I5 spaced from each other to provide an opening it through which sheets of paper are to be discharged from a stack ll of paper mounted withthe line 8-8 of in the box. The stack 11 rests on a'backing' plate" which fits loosely within the box and is formed with side tongues l8 engaged through slots 28 formed in side walls of the box. A spring 2| urges the stack of sheets toward the wall sections I4 and I 5 and the tongues guide movement of the backing plate. Openings 22 are formed in side walls of the box near the discharge end of the box, to accommodate rubber rollers 23 carried by shafts 24 which are mounted in ears '25 projecting from side walls of the box. A spring clip 28 yieldably resists turning of each shaft 24, but since the shafts and their rollers 23 are rotatable, the sheets may be shifted from under the wall section i4 for delivery to the drum. A lip 21 extends from the wall section I4 toward the casing and is curved so that when an end portion of a sheet is detached from the stack and lands upon the lip, it will be directed toward the casing and into engagement with a roller 28. The rollers are opposite openings 29, 30 and 3| formed in the peripheral wall of the casing, and each roller is urged toward the casing for engagement with an exposed portion of the drum by a spring 32 coiled about the stem 23 of a yoke 34 by means of which the roller is rotatably mounted. The stems of the yokes pass through ears 35 which project; from the end wall of the box near which the rollers 23 are located, and, as a detached end portion of a sheet slides along the lip 21 toward the casing, it will be engaged by the cooperating roller 28 and pressed against the rubber facing 5 of the drum. Each of the sheets is detached from its stack in this manner and applied to the drum or gatherer 4 and it will be understood that as the gatherer rotates, the sheets will be successively extracted from the boxes and deposited, one upon another, to provide collected or assembled sheets which are three in number in the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

In order that the sheets may be extracted from the boxes, they must have end portions withdrawn from under the walls sections l4 of the boxes. To accomplish this, there have been provided shoes 38 which are mounted adjacent ends of the openings 29, 38 and 3| of the casing. Each shoe is carried by a rod or shaft 31 which is journaled through the casing transversely thereof, as shown in Fig.' 7. An arm 38 is secured upon each shaft 31 by a set screw 38, and since the arm is adJustably carried by the shaft, it may be shifted along the shaft into and out of position for engagement by the abutment pin 40 protruding from a side of the drum. Springs 4| which have their ends anchored to the casing, and the arms 38, yieldably hold the shoes out of position to engage the sheets, but as the drum turns the abutment pin will successively engage the arms and cause the shafts and the shoes carried thereby to be rocked in a direction to swing the shoes to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. During this movement, a shoe will engage a sheet of a stack of sheets exposed through the opening l8 of a box, and the end portion of the sheet wihch is engaged under the wall section l4, will'be kicked loose, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The abutment pin or finger then moves out of engagement with the arm and the spring returns the arm and shoe to the initial position which permits the sheet to slide forwardly over the lip 2! of the box and into engagement with the applying roller 28 which presses the sheet against the rubber facing of the rotating drum and causes the sheet to be withdrawn from the box. This operation is repeated at each box and the sheets will be assembled in sets, there being three sheets to each set in the present instance.

In order to receive the assembled sheets or sets of sheets, there have been provided trays or receptacles 42, 43 and 44. These receptacles are arranged in a vertical tier and supported upon a bracket 45 fixed to the peripheral wall of the casing l. A door 46 which is hinged at its lower end, as shown at 41, constitutes a closure for the outer ends of the receptacles and is releasably held in raised or closed position by clips 48 at opposite sides of the upper receptacle.

Chutes 48, 58 and 5| extend from the inner ends of the receptacles and converge toward their free ends. As assembled sheets are discharged from the upper end of the receptacle by the roller 28 of the upper box I3, they pass over a platform 52 onto a shelf 53 which has its inner end pivoted to the platform, and this shelf is of such length that by tflting it vertically, it may be moved into position to direct the assembled sheets onto the chutes for delivery into the receptacles. A tongue 54 extends from a side of the shelf and rests on the upper end of a rod 55 which is slidable vertically in the casing through a bearing sleeve 56 carried by a side wall of the casing. This rod has its lower end resting on a cam disk 51 which is fixed to a gear 58 by a suitable number of rivets 59. The gear and the cam disk are secured on a shaft 60 by a key 6|, the shaft being rotatably mounted in brackets 52 and the gear 58 meshing with a smaller gear or pinion 63 fixed to the drum shaft 8. By this arrangement, the shaft 60 and the cam disk will be turned in time relation to the drum and, as the segments of the cam disk move into engagement with the lower end of the rod 55, the rod will be reciprccated vertically and the platform moved from one chute to another. Therefore, the assembled sheets will be successively delivered to the receptacles 42, 43 and 44. As the assembled sheets accumulate in the receptacles, the door 46 will be opened and stacks of assembled sheets removed from the receptacles. A clip 64 is slidably mounted against the under face of the chute 50 and,-from an inspection of Fig. 5, it will be seen that when the clip is shifted outwardly, the platform 53 will be prevented from tilting downwardly below the chute 50 and assembled sheets will only be delivered to the receptacles 42 and 43. Such an arrangement will usually be made use 'of when sheets are only stacked in the boxes l2 and I3, but it is to be understood that delivery of assembled sheets to the lower receptacle may be eliminated whenever desired.

This machine is particularly adapted for manufacturing companies doing a large business and having a very large number of invoices and bills to send to their customers. Many companies send duplicate bills or invoices so that the customer can attach his check to the one being paid and this greatly aids the manufacturer in keeping accurate accounts as he can tell at a glance which invoice or bill a check received is to cover. When the duplicate invoices or bills are sent out to a customer, one is an original and the other a carbon copy and from an inspection of Fig. 1, it will be readily understood that by placing bill heads in the boxes I l and I3 and sheets of carbon paper in the box [2, the machine can then be operated and each group discharged will consist of two bill heads and a sheet of carbon paper therebetween. After the bills have been typed it is necessary to separate the carbon papers from the bills. This is accomplished by placing the assembled sheets in one box and then operating the machine to successively discharge the bills and the sheetsof carbon paper onto the platform 53. This platform is tilted vertically by. the rod 55 to successively move it into cooperating relation to the chutes 49, 50 and SI, and the bills and carbon papers will be separate from each other,

the originals being deposited in one receptacle,

the gatherer for individually discharging sheets from successive stack holders to the rotating gatherer with each of thegathered sheets deposited upon a previously gathered sheet to provide a predetermined number of sheets assembled one upon another, and a receptacle for receiving assembled sheets from the gatherer,

2. A sheet assembling machine comprising a frame, a gatherer in the frame rotatable about a horizontal axis, holders for stacks of sheets carried by the frame and spaced from each other circumferentially of the gatherer, means movably carried by the frame and intermittently actuated by the gatherer during rotation thereof for individually discharging sheets from successive stack holders to the rotating gatherer with each of the gathered sheets deposited against a previously gathered sheet to provide a predetermined number of sheets assembled one upon an other, a plurality of receptacles for receiving assembled sheets from the gatherer arranged one above another in spaced relation to the periphery of the gatherer, and means actuated in timed relation thereto rotation of the gatherer for directing assembled sheets into the receptacles.

3. A sheet assembling machine comprising a rotary gatherer, holders for stacks of sheets frame, a spring in each box for urging a stack of sheets therein toward the inner wall of the box and holding a stack of sheets against the inner wall, sheet feeding members actuated during rotation of the drum for detaching end portions of the sheets from the stacks, means for directing the detached end portions of the sheets into engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and assembling sheets thereon one upon another,

a receptacle, and means for discharging .assembled sheets from the drum into the receptacle.

5. In a sheet assembling machine, a frame, a drumrin said frame having a shaft rotatably mounting the drum, boxes carried by said frame and spaced from each other circumferentially of the drum, the frame having a peripheral wall formed with openings opposite the boxes, each box having an inner wall formed with an opening in cooperating relation to an opening of the frame, a spring in each box for urging a stack of sheets therein toward the inner wall of the box and holding the stack of sheets against the inner wall, shoes pivotally carried by said frame and adapted to be rocked during rotation of the drum to engage and detach end portions of sheets from the stacks, the shoes being yieldably held against movement in a sheetdetaching direction, means for directing detached end portions of the sheets into engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and assembling sheets thereon one upon another, a receptacle, and means for discharging assembled sheets from the drum into the receptacle.

spaced from each other circumferentially of the gatherer, means actuated by the gatherer for individually discharging sheets from successive stack holders to the rotating gatherer with the gathered sheets assembled one upon another, a plurality of receptacles for receiving assembled sheets from the gatherer arranged one above another, chutes extending from inner ends of said receptacles, a shelf for directing assembled sheets from the -,gath'erer onto the chutes for passage into the receptacles, said shelf being tiltable vertically, a cam rotating during turning of the gatherer, and a rod mounted between the cam and shelf and shiftable vertically by the cam for tilting the shelf. I

4. In a sheet assembling machine, a, frame, a drum in said frame having a shaft rotatably mounting the drum, boxes carried by said frame and spaced from each other circumferentially of the drum, the frame having a peripheral wall formed with openings opposite the boxes, each box having an inner wall formed with an opening in cooperating relation to an opening of the v6. In a sheet assembling machine, a frame, a drum in said frame having a shaft rotatably mounting the drum, boxes carried by said frame and spaced from each other circumferentially of the drum, the frame having a peripheral wall formed with openings opposite the boxes, each box having an inner wall formed with an opening in cooperating relation'to an opening of the frame, a spring in each box for urging a stack of sheets therein toward the inner wall of the box and holding the stack of sheets against the inner wall, rods journaled in the frame transversely thereof at ends of the openings in the peripheral wall of the frame, shoes carried by said rods and projecting through the openings of the frame, arms carried by said rods, an abutment carried by the drum for engaging the arms and successively rocking the shoes in a direction to engage end portions of sheets and free same from the stacks, the shoes being yieldably held against movement in a sheet-detaching! direction, means for directing detached end portions of the sheets into engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and assembling sheets thereon one upon another, a receptacle, and means for discharging assembled sheets from the drum into the receptacle.

'7. In a sheet assembling machine, a frame, a drum in said frame having a shaft rotatably mounting the drum, boxes carried by said frame and spaced from each other circumferentially of the drum, the frame having a peripheral wall formed with openings opposite the boxes, each box having an inner wall formed with an opening in cooperating relation to an opening of the frame, a spring in each box for urging a stack of sheets therein toward the inner wall of the box and holding the stack of sheets against the inner wall, rods journaled in the frame transversely thereof at ends of the openings in the peripheral wall of the frame, shoes carried by said rods and projecting through the and the shoes against rocking movement in a sheet detaching direction, means for directing detached end portions of the sheets into engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and assembling sheets thereon one .upon another, a receptacle, and means for discharging assembled sheets from the drum into the receptacle.

8. In a sheet assembling machine, a frame, a drum in said frame having a shaft rotatably mounting the drum, boxes carried by said frame and spaced from each other circumferentlally of the drum, the frame having a peripheral wall formed with openings opposite the boxes, each box having an inner wall formed with an opening in cooperating relation to an opening of the frame, a spring in each boxfor urging a stack of sheets therein toward the inner wall of the box and holding the stack of sheets against the inner wall, sheet feeding members actuated during rotation of the drum for detaching end portions of sheets from the stacks, bearings carried by said boxes, yokes having stems slidable through said bearings, rollers carried by said yokes, springs acting on the stems and urging the rollers through the openings of the casing for engaging detached ends of sheets and directing the detached sheets into engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and assembling sheets one upon another during rotation of the drum, a receptacle, and means for directing assembled sheets from the drum into the receptacle.

9. In a sheet assembling machine, a frame, a drum in said frame having a shaft' rotatably mounting the drum, boxes for holding stacks of sheets carried by said frame and spaced from each other circumferentially of the drum, sheet feeding members actuated during rotation of the drum for directing sheets from the stacks into engagement with the peripheral face of the drum and assembling sheets thereon one upon another, receptacles mounted one above another externally of the casing, said receptacles having chutes extending toward the drum, a platform carried by the frame for receiving assembled sheets discharged from the drum, a shelf between the platform and the chutes pivoted for vertical tilting movement, a driven shaft rotatably mounted in said casing transversely thereof at one side of the drum, means for transmitting rotation from the drum shaft to the driven shaft, a cam turning with the driven shaft, and a pin slidably mounted vertically within the casing over the cam with its upper end engaging the under face of the shelf and its lower end resting on the cam, the pin being shifted vertically by the cam during rotation of the drum for tilting said shelf to positions for delivering assembled sheets into the receptacles.

JOHN TAGGART. 

